Sooners Conclude Home Stand With Falcons

March 19, 2012

Oklahoma (11-9) vs. Air Force (4-12)
Game 21	Tuesday, March 20, 1 p.m.
Game 22	Wednesday, March 21, 3 p.m.
Location	Norman, Okla. \| L. Dale Mitchell Park (3,180)
Radio	Sooner Sports Network \| KREF 1400 AM
TV	Sooner Sports Network \| Cox Ch. 3/703 HD (OKC/Tulsa)
Live Stats	SoonersSports.com
Promotions	$.50 hot dogs, military appreciation day and more
Tickets	$8 adult/ $5 youth
Game Info	Game Notes \| 2012 Media Guide \| Baseball Blog \| Twitter

AIR FORCE PREVIEW
• Oklahoma (11-9) concludes a five-game home stand this week against Air Force (4-12) before returning to Big 12 play over the weekend at Texas Tech. The Sooners and Falcons face off in game one Tuesday at 1 p.m. Wednesday's game is slated for 3 p.m.
• OU fell out of the top 25 polls over the weekend after dropping four games last week and five straight overall
• The Sooners return five position starters from the 2011 squad that finished 41-19 overall and third in the Big 12 (14-11).
• The Falcons return 19 letterwinners from the 2011 team that was 19-36 overall and sixth in the Mountain West Conference at 4-20.
Air Force is coming off a 7-3 win versus Western Illinois on Sunday, snapping a nine-game skid. The Falcons started 2012 at 3-3.

PITCHING ROTATIONS
Game 1 - OU: RHP Damien Magnifico (0-0, 5.79 ERA) vs. AF:LHP Ben Bertelson (0-3, 6.88 ERA)
Game 2 - OU: RHP Drew Harrison (0-0, 5.40 ERA) vs. AF: LHP Michael Ceci (1-3, 3.54 ERA)

BROADCAST INFORMATION
• The OU radio broadcast with play-by-play announcer Toby Rowland can be heard Tuesday and Wednesday on the Sooner Sports Network (KREF 1400 AM in Norman/OKC). Every game in 2012 is online at SoonerSports.com.
• Wednesday's game will be televised by the Sooner Sports Network with Chad McKee and Ross Hubbard calling the action. The games can be seen on Cox Ch. 3/703 HD in Oklahoma City and Tulsa.
• Live stats and a live webcast are also available on SoonerSports.com for this week's games.

PLAYER TO WATCH - EVAN MISTICH
The senior outfielder has hit safely in each of the last five games. Mistich has five hits, five walks and three RBI in the last give games. It marks the second longest streak of the season for Mistich who hit safely in the first six games of the season. The Houma, La., native has played in 19 of the 20 games this season and has reached base safely in each of his appearances.
2012 Season Stats: .264, 2 HR, 11 RBI, 12 walks

TICKETS AND PROMOS
Tickets are available online at SoonerSports.com or by call the office at 800-456-GoOU or locally at 405-325-2424.

March 20 is “Tasty Tuesday” at L. Dale Mitchell Park with $.50 hot dogs and cokes while supplies last. March 21 is “Military Appreciation Day” with a special America Flag presentation. Fans that show their military ID will receive $4 admission for them and their family. The first 250 fans on Tuesday and Wednesday will receive a free OU seat cushion.

OU vs. AIR FORCE SERIES NOTES
- OU leads 3-0, including the last meeting in 2004, 16-1 victory in Norman.
- OU is 2-0 against Air Force in Norman. The two met for the first time in 1971 and the Sooners won 13-2.
- The teams also met in the 1983 NCAA Tournament in Tampa, Fla., with OU recording a 12-9 victory.

LAST TIME OUT
The Sooners went 0-4 last week, starting with a 7-6 loss at Dallas Baptist Tuesday. OU led 4-0 on Friday against Texas in the Big 12 opener before falling 7-6 in 12 innings in Norman. The Sooners lost the final two games of the series on Saturday (9-5) and Sunday (9-4).

ON DECK
The Sooners conclude a five-game home stand with a two-game midweek series with Air Force on March 20 (6:30 p.m.) and March 21 (3 p.m.). OU then returns to Big 12 play and hits the road for the first time in conference action at Texas Tech over the weekend (March 23-25).

DOUBLE DIGITS
The Sooners are 7-4 when collecting 10 or more hits in a game with wins over Pepperdine (2/17), Hartford (2/24-25), New Mexico (all 3) and UAPB (3/6). OU is also 2-0 when scoring double-digit runs with victories over Hartford (2/25) and New Mexico (3/3). OU is 0-3 when allowing 10-plus runs against Pepperdine (2/18), UTA and Oregon State. The Sooners are 4-9 when giving up 10 or more hits.

OVERTON AND GRAY COLLECT BIG 12 WEEKLY HONORS
Two Sooner hurlers earned Big 12 baseball weekly honors on for games played March 5-11. Dillon Overton earned the Pitcher of the Week award after winning two games in that week, including a complete game win against West Virginia in the Nike Showcase. Jonathan Gray was tabbed the Newcomer of the Week after striking out 10 batters in the win over No. 9 Oregon.

JOHN NAMED BIG 12 PITCHER OF THE WEEK
Redshirt sophomore reliever Jordan John was named the Big 12 Co-Pitcher of the Week on March 5 after tossing 5 1/3 scoreless innings in two games at New Mexico. John allowed one hit in the two appearances, combined for a shutout and held opponents to a .059 batting average.

GOLLOWAY GETS WIN No. 600
On Sunday, Feb. 26, 2012, the Sooners recorded an 8-3 victory, marking the 600th in head coach Sunny Golloway's career. At OU, Golloway has won 265 games, the third most in school history and just 16 behind Jack Baer, who coached OU to the 1951 National Championship. In his 14 full seasons as a DI head coach, Golloway's teams have averaged 42.14 wins per year.

OU PICKED THIRD IN BIG 12 PRESEASON POLL
The Sooners were picked to finish third in the 2012 Big 12 Coaches' Preseason Poll on Feb. 14. It marks the fourth straight year that the Sooners were picked in the top four spots in the preseason poll.

Texas A&M was selected as the preseason favorite to win the 2012 Big 12 baseball regular season title, followed by Texas, Oklahoma, Baylor, Missouri, Oklahoma State,Texas Tech, Kansas and Kansas. A complete poll is listed on page 5.

PRESEASON TOP 25 POLLS
Oklahoma is ranked in the top 25 preseason polls for the fourth straight year, with its highest recognition coming from the National Collegiate Baseball Writer's Association (NCBWA) at No. 14. OU is also ranked No. 15 by the USA Today/ESPN Coaches' poll, No. 16 by Collegiate Baseball and No. 19 by Baseball America. Turn to page four for all the preseason listings.

WHO'S BACK
The Sooners return 15 letterwinners and seven starters (five position players, two pitchers) from the 2011 team. In the offseason, the coaching staff signed a class of 21 players that were ranked as high as No. 4 (Collegiate Baseball) in the recruiting rankings. View the listing of each player on page 3.

2011 DRAFT RECAP
OU will feature some new faces in 2012 as 11 Sooners were drafted last June, a mark that led the Big 12 and marks the most taken in program history, topping the 10 selected in 1998 and 1995. The 11 selections ranked in a tie for second place in the nation behind Vanderbilt (12). Arizona State, Florida and South Carolina also had 11 while Texas was eighth with nine selections. The most players drafted in the Sunny Golloway era was nine, accomplished twice in 2009 and 2006. Overall, 43 Sooners have been drafted on Golloway's watch, including at least four in every season but one. In addition, 22 of the players came to Norman undrafted in their careers. Of the 11 Sooners taken in 2011, eight were selected for the first time and two others improved their draft status by at least four rounds.

DRAFTED PLAYERS ON 2012 ROSTER
Below is a look at the nine players taken in the Major League Baseball Draft on the current roster. It spans the last three years and includes seven players taken a year ago, including two-time draftees Jonathan Gray and Steven Okert.

Chris Burgess (2011 - 30th round - Tampa Bay)
Adam Choplick (2011 - 17th round - Arizona)
Jonathan Gray (2011 - 10th round - NY Yankees and 2010 - 13th round - Kansas City)
Jordan John (2011 - 28th round - Houston)
Hunter Lockwood (2011 - 17th round - LAA Angels)
Damien Magnifico (2009 - 5th round - NY Mets)
Steven Okert (2011 - 33rd - Milwaukee and 2010 - 43rd round - Milwaukee)
Dillon Overton (2010 - 26th round - Boston)
Drake Roberts (2011 - 49th round - Minnesota)

BREAKDOWN OF 2012 SCHEDULE
- 30 home games, including four Big 12 series
- Home Big 12 series with Texas, KSU, Missouri & Baylor
- Non-conference home games vs. Oral Roberts, Air Force, Arkansas, DBU and TCU
- Other key non-conference games vs. Pepperdine, New Mexico, Connecticut, Oregon, West Virginia, Oregon State and Oklahoma State.
- Bedlam Series in Tulsa and OKC, May 4-6
- 12 opponents from 2011 NCAA Tourney (28 games)
- 8 teams that finished 2011 ranked in top 25
- Seven foes with 40-plus wins a year ago
- Two 2010 CWS participants (Texas & Texas A&M)
- Three other Super Regional teams (DBU, Oregon State and Connecticut)
- First time opponents in Oregon, Connecticut, West Virginia, Alabama State, Hartford and Samford

BASEBALL ON KREF 1400 AM IN 2012
The 2012 season marks the second with KREF 1400 AM serving as the flagship station of Sooner baseball. The partnership provides expanded coverage for OU fans to listen to 50-plus regular season games live over the air and extends into postseason play.

Additionally, 18 of the 24 Big 12 games are set to be carried on the Sooners Sports' Network, enabling fans to listen to OU baseball on various stations across the state starting on March 30 against Kansas State. Overall, 23 games will be carried on the network with non-conference games against Arkansas, Oklahoma State, Oral Roberts and TCU.

The entire 56-game regular season schedule will also be broadcast live on the internet via Oklahoma All-Access, OU's premium content site.

2012 TELEVISION SCHEDULE
The University of Oklahoma announced the television schedule thru the month of March for the 2012 Sooner baseball schedule. Eight baseball games produced by the Sooner Sports Network will be televised in the state of Oklahoma on Cox Communications Cable (Cox Ch. 3/703 HD) and nationwide on DirecTV via Fox College Sports (Ch. 617 or 623).

Each of the games will be televised live from Norman with local sports personality Chad McKee calling the play-by-play and additional contests will be added throughout the season. Please check your local cable or satellite provide for coverage in your area.

The Sooners are also scheduled to appear in two games on Fox Sports Southwest. The first of the two nationally televised games will be played on Friday, May 4 in Tulsa, Okla., for the Oklahoma Farm Bureau Bedlam Series. That game is scheduled for 7 p.m. at ONEOK Field in downtown Tulsa. The second game comes during the final Big 12 series of the year against Baylor. The Sooners and Bears will tangle at 2 p.m. on Saturday May 12 on FSN.

Sooner Sports Network-Cox Ch. 3 in OKC/Tulsa)
March 16 - Texas (6:30 p.m.)
March 17 - Texas (2 p.m.)
March 18 - Texas (1 p.m.)
March 20 - Air Force (6:30 p.m.)
March 21 - Air Force (3 p.m.)
March 30 - Kansas State (6:30 p.m.)
March 31- Kansas State (2 p.m.)

Fox Sports Southwest
May 4 - vs. Oklahoma State (7 p.m. in Tulsa)
May 12 - Baylor (2 p.m.)

ESPNU
April 7 - at Texas A&M (3:30 p.m.)

SOONERS INK 15 FOR 2013 SEASON
Oklahoma signed 15 student athletes as part of the 2013 incoming class back in November.

The OU coaching staff inked 11 high school players, including four of the state of Oklahoma's best in Jacob Evans, a two-way player from Broken Arrow H.S., Taylor Hawkins, a catcher from Carl Albert H.S., Carson McPherson, a left-handed pitcher from Ardmore H.S., and Colt Pickens, an infielder/outfielder from Yukon H.S.

The Sooners also plucked three of the best south of the Red River in Kolbey Carpenter (infielder from West ISD), Ralph Garza (RHP/INF from New Braunfels H.S.) and Huntey Haley (INF/OF from Central Heights H.S.), while adding Justin Burba (OF from Wichita Campus High), the No. 3 recruit from the state of Kansas.

Overall, 11 of the 15 recruits are from the high school ranks while the Sooners also added four junior college players.

Craig Aiken | OF | R/R | 5-10 | 160
Coppell, Texas (Coppell H.S.)

Justin Burba | OF/1B | L/L | 6-0 | 185
Wichita, Kan. (Wichita Campus H.S.)

Kolbey Carpenter | INF | R/R | 6-0 | 175
Waco, Texas (West H.S.)

Ralph Garza Jr. | RHP/INF | R/R | 6-3 | 185
New Braunfels, Texas (New Braunfels Senior)

Hunter Haley | INF/OF | R/R | 5-10 | 175
Nacogdoches, Texas (Central Heights H.S.)

Taylor Hawkins | C | R/R | 5-11 | 185
Oklahoma City, Okla. (Carl Albert H.S.)

Kyle Hayes | INF/RHP | R\L | 6-2 | 210
Santee, Calif. (Santana H.S.)

Anthony Hermelyn | INF | R/R | 6-1 | 200
McKinney, Texas (McKinney H.S.)

Hayden Jones | 1B/LHP | L/L | 6-1 | 190
Houston, Texas (Langham Creek H.S.)

Hector Lorenzana | INF | R/R | 5-11 | 190
San Diego, Calif. (Howard College)

Carson McPherson | LHP | R/R | 6-0 | 190
Ardmore, Okla. (Ardmore H.S.)